Grading the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Torrid Offseason

In the past few years, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been considered one of the two superpowers in the NBA, along with the Golden State Warriors. They got LeBron James in 2015, who immediately brought them to the NBA Finals with a strong core of James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love. They made it to three straight finals, and though they did lose two of those series, it appeared that nothing could go wrong.

That all ended this offseason. After a devastating defeat in the recent Finals to the Warriors, many rumors swirled around about LeBron potentially leaving Cleveland. After a while, those rumors turned from slim chances to very real possibilities.

The pressure that puts on a front office is huge. Obviously they want to keep their superstar, but they also want to look good in their fan bases’ eyes. As another Cleveland sports team has shown, when your fans don’t like you, that means big trouble.

The other big news has been star point guard Irving requesting a trade out of Cleveland. They have yet to move him despite receiving many good offers. If they do somehow end up not trading him, that would leave some bad chemistry between him and James, as LeBron said, he felt ‘devastated’ by the trade request. Not a good connection. And, to voice the obvious point, the Cavs don’t want their starting point guard to leave the team. On top of all that, the Cavs have yet to make any major moves forward as a team. They missed out on Paul George and Jimmy Butler, who went to the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively.

Their only additions have been the sub-par point guard Jose Calderon, veteran swingman Jeff Green, Cedi Osman, and the ever-injured Derrick Rose. They have switched GMs and have yet to bring anything forward that will excite their fans.

To be completely frank, LeBron James should pack up his things and jump ship as soon as possible. All of that being said, the Cleveland Cavaliers have had a rough offseason. They have little time to fix it before it all comes crashing down on them.